The Castle at Reinsberg.Slender Purses of Fritz and Wilhelmina.Liberality of Fritz.The Ball at Monbijou.Adventures of Fritz and Wilhelmina.Letters.The Interview.Anecdote of the King.Wilhelminas Account of her Brother.Mental and Physical Maladies of the King.Fredericks cruel Neglect of his Wife.Daily Habits of the young Prince.The shameful Carousal.The position of the Austrians on the heights of Siptitz, an eminence which rose two hundred feet above the bed of the river, seemed impregnable. Sixty-five thousand Austrians stood512 upon those heights, protected by earth-works and a formidable abatis. They had four hundred guns in battery, a larger number than had ever before been brought upon a battle-field. To attack then and there was an act of desperation. On the evening of the 2d the king assembled his generals and said to them,
ONE:As the secretary, Podewils, had been taking notes, Lord Hyndford requested permission to look at them, that he might see that no mistake had been made. The king assented, and then Lord Hyndford bowed himself out. Thus ended the audience.On the 9th of August he wrote from Grüssau to Wilhelmina herself: Oh, you, the dearest of my family, you whom I have most at heart of all in this world, for the sake of whatever is most precious to you, preserve yourself, and let me have at least the consolation of shedding my tears in your bosom!
TWO:I have not the honor to be acquainted with kings, said I; but, to judge from what one has read in history of several of them, I should believe, sir, on the whole, that you are right.
THREE:During this sickness a very curious scene occurred, characteristic of the domestic life of this royal family. The second daughter, Frederica Louisa, beautiful as an angel, and a spoiled child of fifteen, was engaged to the Marquis of Anspach. We will allow Wilhelmina to describe the event which took place at the56 table. It was early in March, 1729, while the king was still suffering from the gout:
TWO: It is in such moments that I have felt how small are those advantages of birth, those vapors of grandeur, with which vanity would solace us. They amount to little, properly to nothing. Ah! would glory but make use of me to crown your successes!
TWO: My dear General and Friend,I was charmed to learn, by your letter, that my affairs are on so good a footing. You may depend on it I am prepared to follow your advice. I will lend myself to whatever is possible for me. And, provided I can secure the kings favor by my obedience, I will do all that is within my power.
The nephew of Elizabeth, and her successor, Peter III., was a very warm admirer of Frederick. One of his first acts was to send to the Prussian king the assurance of his esteem and friendship. Peter immediately released all the Prussian prisoners in his dominions, entered into an armistice with Frederick, which529 was soon followed by a treaty of alliance. The two sovereigns commenced a very friendly correspondence. Frederick returned all the Russian prisoners, well clothed and fed, to their homes. The change was almost as sudden and striking as the transformations in the kaleidoscope. On the 23d Peter issued a decree that there was peace with Prussia, that he had surrendered to his Prussian majesty all the territorial conquests thus far made, and had recalled the Russian armies.43I will not see him. There was a time when I would have listened to a compromise. That time has passed. I have now entered into arrangements with France. Talk to me no more.The battle, thus commenced, continued to rage for four long312 hours, with all its demon energies, its blood, its wounds, its oaths, its shrieks, its death; on the right wing, on the left wing, in the centre; till some ten or twelve thousand, some accounts say more, of these poor peasant soldiers lay prostrate upon the plain, crushed by the hoof, torn by the bullet, gashed by the sabre. Many were dead. Many were dying. Many had received wounds which would cripple them until they should totter into their graves. At the close of these four hours of almost superhuman effort, the villages all around in flames, the Austrians slowly, sullenly retired from the contest. Prince Charles, having lost nearly seven thousand men, with his remaining forces breathless, exhausted, bleeding, retired through Czaslau, and vanished over the horizon to the southwest. Frederick, with his forces almost equally breathless, exhausted, and bleeding, and counting five thousand of his soldiers strewn over the plain, in death or wounds, remained master of the field. Such was the famous battle of Chotusitz.
荣誉榜
THREE:The empress, then, added Wilhelmina, is a better exorcist than other priests.
THREE:511 After having sacrificed my youth to my father, and my maturer age to my country, I think that I have acquired the right to dispose of my old age as I please. I have told you, and I repeat it, my hand shall never sign a disgraceful peace. I shall continue this campaign with the resolution to dare all, and to try the most desperate things, either to succeed or to find a glorious end. Correspondence between Frederick and Voltaire.Voltaires Visit to Frederick.Domestic Habits of the King.Unavailing Diplomacy of Voltaire.The New Alliance.The Renewal of War.The Siege of Prague.The Advance upon Vienna.Darkening Prospects.The Pandours.Divisions in Council.Sickness of Louis XV.Energy of Frederick.Distress of the Army.
